I know the first part of this question is a little like “how long is a piece of string” and I’m sure I heard something around this, but can’t remember where.
Roughly how long would you expect to take to complete all the premium content has to offer assuming I was playing approx 30-60mins 5 times per week. I’ve almost finished my first month in a monthly subscription and considering signing up for the annual.
I did the beginner course, but then I’ve jumped around a bit trying some of the songs, but spent a decent amount of time in the Grooving & Improving. Some of the main beats came pretty quickly, but the fills were a bit harder for me. I think the jumping around has allowed me to get some more practice in without feeling frustrated if I can’t do something.
I guess part of the puzzle is how proficient I want to be with all the different aspects. Some are coming easier than others, which I know is just learning in general. Ideally I’d like to be able to play along with the songs included in the course as well as start some improv so I can get to my main goal of making some music where I play finger drums, guitar and bass.
The second part of my question is specifically for Rob and relates to if there is any additional content that might be planned for the next 12 months?
Do not hesitate to sign up for the annual. I am sure you will find challenges for the next 12 months. The amount of content is huge and it takes time to process all the information.
I play a guitar and bass, too. I started from the beginner level and was able to record decent finger drums for my music when I had played 6 months. That song was pretty fast and there were even drum fills.
When practicing fills I would start with very short fills and go then back to main beat.
I have jumped around a lot and it has helped me to keep my motivation. The learning process is quite fascinating. First playing feels chaotic but little by little things get more organized.
So far I’ve never spent a year without releasing new content. I expect to have a revamped Grooving & Improving course done by January 2025, but I’m not 100% sure since I’m also dealing with factors outside QFG (I have other work) and if that get’s really busy all of a sudden things might get pushed back.
Revamping some older courses is probably the best thing for me to do right now. I can now record lessons knowing what’s coming next. That was impossible in the earlier days with the first couple of courses. Now I can tie the curriculum together in a better way.
As for completely new courses I might make some sort of short Yamaha FGDP course. Apart from that I think I will just be revamping the old topics because I don’t have that much more to say about learning finger drumming. I just think I can sometimes say it in a better way.
Thanks Rob. Totally understand where you’re coming from. It seems to be a fairly small player base in the finger drumming community. You’ve clearly put in a lot of work in setting up your site and regularly interacting on this forum.
I think I’ll continue on otherwise my Mikro will probably just collect dust as the course will no doubt encourage me to play more often. I think the play along tracks are what makes the difference in enjoying and developing as a player. I’ve spent far too long on guitar just playing riffs or learning techniques where I’m playing with no other instruments or music.
Yeah I might be able to add a new layalong track once in a while by the way. The only limitation that has is the fact that I cannot use “real” songs because of copyright issues. I have to use Epidemic Sounds library of quality but not famous tracks.
When building the library I tried putting in as much variation as I could, to make sure there’s something for everyone in there.
That would be great. I’m not really fussed about “real” songs as a big part of my goal is to create some of my own music. The more ideas I hear with mixing instruments together, I think the closer I’ll get to my goal. I had my first go at the start of last month where I think I was using one of your beats (me playing) and then did some rhythm guitar, lead guitar and bass over the top. I know very little about mixing instruments together so it could probably sound better, but that wasn’t the point of recording it, it was just to get started and it felt really good.
I think you mentioned metal isn’t really your style of music, but if you happen to drop in a basic metal track somewhere along the way, I would be more than happy to learn and jam along with it
